Vox ex Machina
by IcandyCo
Summary: An AU twist on the RotG lore, where rather than a magic filled world our guardians inhabit, only the wonders of technology dazzle imaginations. In this Steam Punk version of Burgess and the world, we see how each fits into this world at its technological golden age. On that note our story revolves around each of the characters in turn, but primarily from Tooth and Jack's views.
1. Prologue

_Welcome to all the curious people who clicked on this new story! Be it for new Rotg stories or just looking for a random read I thank you for giving this a minute of your time. I humbly invite you to this story of mine! ^-^ As you may or may not know this is a Rise of the Guardians fanfiction with a bit, well, a large twist on the premise. That is for the most part being set in a steam punk world. Also this story takes both from the film and the books, so I will hopefully be able to please both audiences. I apologize for any problems the story may have and feel free to comment, criticize and suggest! Although try to be civil. Thanks a bunch and I hope to see you all for chapter one! :D_

"Vox ex Machina"

A small buzzer goes off at the desk as a customer walks into the threshold a room over. A system of pulleys and wires are neatly laced and intertwined to form a web stretching from the back room all the way to the front door. These thin wires lace through the walls to make a maze for the teller. She used these to know where anyone was in her parlor at any time, which only helped the air of mysticism. For you see the owner of this parlor was none other than the most extraordinary scam artist on Clement Street, The Amazing Madam Deniro. This particular Madam was actually the most ordinary of people; she was selfish, unkind and uncaring for the needs of others and of course, most fascinated with money. She was in her late twenties to early thirties, with long dark hair with brown roots and a round face. She was most acquainted with scams and trickery using her specific appeals and magical claims. But on her own, without tricks and looks she was powerless. This extraordinary pulley system was not even of her handiwork but the design of a rising inventor who we look into later. But for now, the door has chimed and she is ready for her next "sucker."

This man was far from the average sucker, she thought to herself. Quite the contrary, this man was one of high stature, and should be treated just so. Just so long as she gets some of that nobility in her pocket, of course. His eyes were piercing to a point that made her worry. What if he figured her out? No. Why would he be in here in the first place if he was smart enough to not be fooled, to gloat? Doubtful, no she must just play it safe and she can make enough for the week for sure! She uses a small mirror, reflecting his face from different angles and reflects of a great many mirrors strewn throughout the room to study his looks. Maybe that will give her an insight to what he needs. He is very gaunt, tall, and proper. His eyes are narrow, as are all his features, sharp. He was quite handsome, even with the especially arrogant smile across his face. Madam Dinero adjusted her blouse and cloak to look most presentable and lovely for the handsome customer, and she called from the "room where the magic happens," and says, "Come in, come in my child. What may I do for my most honorable guest? A reading maybe? Or would you prefer a spell?" You see, Madam Dinero was renowned, aside from being a cheat by her more knowledgeable friends, as a fortune teller and mystic of many secrets. But this guest seemed unphased by the magical scene or incense around the room. The room was dark but he seemed to be able to cover every inch with his gaze.

"No no. Just a reading would be fine. My name is Cross, and I have an inquiry about my business."

"Oh, Mr. Cross, might I have a first name, to better acquaint us? And just business? Wouldn't you also like another, maybe a reading about personal matters, such as family, or romance. . ?" She stressed the word, leaning in over the crystal ball sitting on the table behind which she sat. She knew that her looks would attract many a man just to come and see her, and a very wealthy man is all the more welcome in her parlor.

"Just," He starts, sitting down slowly and purposefully, "Cross thank you. And no no, I have no need for questions of the sort. Right now I am only concerned with business."

_Shit. One of these. No matter. _"Of course!" She leans back as subtly as she can, though subtlety is hard to achieve from such an unsubtle position. "Well, come closer to the crystal ball, as we discuss payment." She smiles from behind her shawl, a toothy smile, the very face of greed. But since a shawl blocked this true look at her soul, Mr. Cross was unwary as ever.

"Here." He tossed a small purse of coins that clinked heavily onto the table. "A little extra is in there to be sure you do your absolute _best_." He states inflecting the end and throwing on a small smile. Madam Dinero snatched the purse and checked to see the amount. This was, thre-no FOUR times her charge fee! Better tell this guy what he wants to hear!

"But of course!" she says as she slips the small coin purse down the front of her shirt. "Now tell me what your request is."

"Ehem," he coughed, "Well I must ask you whether or not my most recent ventures will be successful. I am putting far more than I am comfortable with into this deal and will NOT accept anything but success."

When speaking his hopes he seemed a lot less friendly than before. Now he seemed very businesslike. This was all the more reason to hurry this up and get it over with. _Time to start the show. _She began as she does by dimming the lights, a small set of pads under her foot controlling everything. The far left pressed down half way dimmed everything. Next she pressed the button directly right of it, and the light started to glow inside of the ball. A familiar light blue, cloudy light was set around the room. She smiled behind her shawl as it was her favorite part of the act. Then snapping back into focus she pressed the last button and the smoke machine silently kicked in, releasing a fog around the room. "Oh mighty spirits, please answer us a request. Go forth through your ethereal planes to find us the truth that only lies in the future. We seek but one answer to our request, a simple one at that. Oh spirits from beyond, come forth to my summons! I ask of thee, what does fate hold for our patron's business ventures?!" The ball began to shine brighter as she pressed the pad harder and she grinned as her job was almost complete. But before she could begin her act of possession, an entirely extraordinary thing happened to our ordinary Madam Dinero. The ball began to shine red. She didn't know why or how but red. This was new; she hadn't installed a mechanism for this. As a million questions where zooming around her mind the ball suddenly turned green and everything went dark for Madam Dinero.

Before our guest's eyes the fortune teller began to glow a luscious green out her eyes and mouth matching exactly to the ball. Her eyes where naturally dark brown so this was a stark contrast. His face showed a slight interest now, compared to his previously bored expression.

"Pitch, King of Nightmares and Shadows, destroyer of myself and those who I protect. I have come here personally to tell you that your plots will fail. You shall be stopped. Your armies shall be crushed. And your empire shall fall! Now if you wish to see your voice silenced forever than do not stand against the voice of the lands, the voice of the people, and the voice of the machine."

Mr. Cross was awestruck at these events. Nothing supernatural has been heard of since the great dawn of mechanism. _Well, he wanted a challenge, and maybe he just got it. Nothing to worry about though, whatever that being was, no man, spirit, or god could stand to him now. And what could a machine possibly do to him, He was in control and all felt right. But, as an added measure. . . _Just then a flash of steal illuminated off the now blue crystal ball, and the Amazing Madam Deniro was no more, a river of red behind her shawl. He picked up the coins by the cord hanging out her shirt. How classy of her. Well if it was a fight that whatever this being wanted, so be it.

This city was his after all, he owned almost all of the power industries ranging from coal and electricity to oil and gas. He did not own any steam power, for long at least. And he was even going so far as to study using lava as a power resource. Although this would be done by leading scientists, inventors, and a large scale work force of course. He himself would not take part in this until all was deemed "safe enough for their newborns to play in." But he was not always this tycoon, no, no. In fact all of this started around the beginning of the dawn of mechanism. Since then when the dull and dimwitted of the time found out how to use steel, a few less dimwitted began to toy with inventing. They were oft ignored until they came to power through strength of mind and steel. Since then inventions have sprung up all around such as clockwork in all sorts of contraptions, steam power and electrical power, though he himself preferred the old coal and oil. This is in fact where he started his own business after his previous ventures had halted, but that is a story for another day. Anyway as those of strong mind stayed in power as brute force was quickly crushed by mechanical strength, new politics and creations formed around once ancient cities to form bustling trafficked new metropolises. The one he currently resided in was a town called Burgess, which became a bustling cityscape after he himself had opened the power plants surrounding the city. But when certain parts of the city refused to pay, there were known to be a few "slips" in his power grid. These may or may not have resulted in some unfortunate "accidents," that where quickly swept away by the much busier police force. Life has been good in these new times, new technology is being created on a daily basis, and while a tad dirty progress was in the air! At least, for those who could afford it. And he was one of those who could, many many many times over. In fact by monopolizing the power industry he had become one of the, if not the wealthiest man in the west hemisphere; east he was not entirely sure but the dogs probably could not scrape up half as much as him.

Yes he was indeed on top of his game, but recently there was a slight disturbance in his business. And that, in his world, was the one thing not to be disturbed. A young no name inventor thought they could make a name for themselves by shutting down one of his pet businesses entirely. He had a fondness for birds, small but they did not repulse him like most creatures. Yes he decided on a whim to create a messenger bird network throughout this city for the middle class, as they could not afford the phonographs that the wealthier had. This proved to be a booming success and he soon realized how untapped the middle class really was as a resource. But just as soon as he had started making plans to expand business, this child had to step in.

Yes she had made these little clockwork birds to fly around. They could be controlled remotely or sent to destined locations through beacons and signals. This was far more effective than actual birds, the bloody rats with wings. This was mechanical, so much cleaner and more manageable. However since he saw the promise this would soon attain, he was fit to burst that it wasn't his. He tore down a newspaper clipped to a board on the wall reading "FLEDGLING INVENTOR THIA "TOOTH" NAA RON CLAIMS FIRST PRIZE AT LOCAL INVENTORS FAIR. BAFFLES LONG TIME RUNNERS AND JUMPSTARTING A PROMISING CAREER." _Well, isn't this a difficult spot, that this little BRAT put me in. . . Or is it? _The cogs started to spin as he thought up a devilish idea. He quickly slide around his desk and started jotting down a letter in heavy black ink. The letters he wrote where quick and spidery, like a shadow, as his handwriting was naturally. It read thus;

To whom it may concern. I, Pitch of the unified power institutions have taken into account your most recent of breakthroughs in the scientific community. I in fact own a small side business in which pertains to this most ingenious of ideas you have thought up. As an inventor myself I am very impressed, So much so in fact, that I would like to meet you in person to discuss business propositions. A deal could be brought up that would solidify your placement as a partner in business and your place in the scientific community as well as make you a plausible candidate for future projects involving many of my organizations. The meeting will be offered with a complimentary and congratulatory dinner at one of my privately owned restaurants. If you are interested do reply to this address rather than the company address as it will take an exceedingly long time to process, and by then my deal shall be gone. I expect a reply in a fortnight or less, so be quick about it and I hope to engage in business very soon.

Good day,

A sir Pitch.


	2. Chapter 1 - Songbird

_Hello readers!~ It has been far too long :P I am sorry if this post took a while, and I apologize for the title change. I didn't realize the prologue part was for the entire story, dang I am way too new to this xD Anywho, before we get this started, I wanted to do some stuff that I entirely forgot in my last post. Firstly DISCLAIMER: These are not my characters, I do not own any of the characters affiliated with Rise of the Guardians, or any of their stories. And secondly, none of this is cannon (as I know you know :P) and finally, I must give credit with to u/4678285/mOOn-stArs-sUn She has been a load of help with getting this project off the ground so show her some love and check out her stories too! ^-^ anyway, thanks for tuning in again and I will see all of you next week! Comments or feedback is always accepted!_

Chapter 1

Song Bird

A letter was not something Thia was expecting that morning, especially a letter from the most prominent businessman in the city. Everybody had pretty much finished switching to calls on the telephone. So when she opened her rarely used mailbox outside her small workshop, and found the spidery seal on the front her jaw hit the floor. "REDGE!" She screamed so loud some neighbors opened the windows to check on her.

"Alright there, Tooth?! What's wrong?" an elderly woman called out from a second story window. Her name was Thia, but Tooth was a pet name given to her by the other mechanics around here. All of them always were laughing and joking during work and because of it they tended to stain a tooth or more while working, or just over time working. Thia on the other hand had perfectly straight white teeth for the past two years she had been working. She didn't really talk while she was working which definitely helped, she didn't have anyone to talk to besides Redge. He acted like a half-brother-half-father figure to her, and overall looked out for her since she came here to Burgess.

"Naw Mrs. Cecil, everything is fine!" Tooth quickly read through the letter and a brilliant smile crept across her face. "Wonderful in fact, Mrs. Cecil. I have an invitation!"

"To dinner? Did a man finally come around?" The woman leaned out the window excitedly. Her eyes grew keen for a new piece of gossip, but concern for her also could be seen behind that. Tooth wasn't exactly friendly with a lot of the people outside of the small shacks and workshop on their street. And she was nowhere close to being romantic with anyone here. She hadn't really thought about anything like that for a long time. And now was not the time to start.

"No, no. It is an invitation to talk business! And maybe a job offering from Mr. Pitch himself!" Tooth hopped a little as she called to Mrs. Cecil, her excited nature bubbling out.

"What is this talk of men?" Redge came storming out, his brown overalls and white T-shirt stained with OJ he most likely spat out hearing boy talk. She did compare him to a father and a brother, so he had all of the overprotection of both of these two people. "Are you seeing a guy now Tooth? Don't do that, all of the guys around here are scummy anyway. Get rich then find yourself a nice timid guy you can walk all over!" Redge said trying to talk her out of some imagined engagement.

"Redge! Stop! It is nothing like that, it's a business letter! I have been invited to meet Mr. Pitch himself to discuss inventions and a business deal!" Redge's relief was almost comical, the sigh everything. She rolled her eyes at him and punched his arm.

"Haha hey! Ow!" Redge whined as he rubbed his arm sorely. "Calm down tiger. I'm just looking out for you! So when does he want to meet you?"

"Well, here it says in the fortnight he wants me to mail him back. So I think I just will tonight and talk maybe. . . Friday night?" She judged Redge's face as she said it. His face was thick and chiseled like the rest of him, but also worn and dirty constantly from the mechanic work. But since there were no signs of disappointment on his face, she must have not needed to work that day.

"Well, I was going to work you but I guess for your future life goals I can make an exception that day. But come in bright and ready for Monday morning, got it missy?!" He was a horrible liar, but she wouldn't mess with his fake strictness.

"Yes Sir!" She said with a mock salute. "Well, I'ma go write a response and get some groceries. Want anything Redge?"

"Naw. Well, now yes. Pick up some orange juice while you're out. I spilled the bloody stuff when you started screaming bloody murder."

She laughed. "Sorry! Didn't think you were even up yet!" she lied as she started taking her hair out of a small newsboy cap that always ended up letting parts of her hair out. She had thick black hair to match her dark skin. A lot of the boys around her said it was really pretty but it wasn't really anything to her. What was unique to her, however, was the beads she braided into her hair. She had all different colors of beads depending on her mood but she really enjoyed magenta and yellow in particular. And she usually had blues and greens towards the back. They were really easy to hide as it wasn't everywhere in her hair, but she found herself putting more and more in after she got washed up every night. She was up to around thirty now, but that was because she put multiple into braids. She only had about six braids scattered around her hair.

Other than that she was just an average looking girl from Thailand. Well, that's not exactly average around here. In fact that alone was more outside culture than most people here had ever experienced. And originally she felt the same way about here. She had originally come to America to run away from her parents, as money was running low and with a couple of younger brothers to feed the family couldn't afford keeping her, especially since she wasn't going to get married anytime soon. Her father was a young businessman from England that came to Thailand on a business trip where he met her mother. They fell in love and he quit his fancy job to stay with her. He taught all of his children English as her mother taught them Thai. Both of them had very big hearts; even with almost no money they tried to help out their neighbors when they could. She recalls happily a time when her family spent the day helping with chores for Mrs. Wattana because her husband was sick that day. She missed them all fiercely, and hoped one day she could see them again.

After cleaning up from morning work and writing a response she drops it off in the mail shoot. This handy device was made by a Mr. Dixon, and uses air pressure to send all of the mail throughout the city and near countryside directly to the mail office through underground tubes and shoots. Since she came here, all she really thought about was inventions and inventing. This obsession first started with her father showing her a small pocket watch, which unfolded into a clockwork ballerina and played a tune. She loved the thing dearly until it broke from improper upkeep. That's when she started inventing herself; she fixed it and retuned it to play more clearly. The day she showed her father he brought her mother in and said, "This kind of brilliance only comes around once or twice a generation. She, is going to college."

Her father was always completely on board with her inventing and found scrap for her to use. They were by no means poor; her father had a sum of money they were living off of back in England. But money was tight as no one was willing to offer him a job. Her mother on the other hand was accepting but preferred her to invest time in more traditional pass times. That's not to say she didn't, no she took part in a lot of traditional activities with her mother. It was the only time they really had alone together, because other than training her brothers didn't have interest. She loved the old and new pastimes that her mother and father showed her. But she didn't have time for that now; she had to put herself fully into this. She knew it's what she was supposed to do. "I'm off! Ta-ta!"

Redgie yelled something after her but she didn't hear him through all of the machinery he was under. She was far too excited to even think about it. This was her chance at the big time! Is this the "American Dream" that immigrants always talk about? Either way she had to give this her all. She thought about any new inventions as she walked, working on older ideas that failed, tweaks to new ones or just daydreaming. She walked from alley to alley, the gizmos and gadgets whirring quietly in the corners or out the windows. Obvious things like calibrators and expigometers and weather vanes. She loves being surrounded by these machines and being away from people helps her feel surrounded by them. She takes a detour out of the alleys and is greeted by the real streets of Burgess. A long winding road stretches to both sides of her, long lines of automobiles stretch in parallel but opposite directions, the wheels of the automobiles leisurely spinning as they drive on. A big wheel drive past her, she notes it as a new incarnation of public transportation. The large gear pulls it along at a regulated speed as the gear teeth fall perfectly into the grooves on the street. This makes them easy to control and almost impossible to hijack, a problem in some of the less wealthy cities with old trollies. She looks up to see some of the sky rails overhead, winding through the buildings of the city. Oh how she wanted to take all of it apart and look inside.

She continues on, and spots a familiar landmark. She smiles as she waves to the security automatons watching the front of a police station. They wave back, in about as cheery of a way that they can. She didn't mind, knowing that they weren't happy to see her. She knew they were just machines, but it felt so cold to just leave them there like all the other people in the city did. Everyone thought she was strange when she did this, but she didn't mind. It felt too rude not to be friendly to the robots even if they didn't react. _I mean it's just being nice! Besides, people should really start getting used to the idea of being nice to automations because one day, sooner than later I bet, we will crack it. We will finally be able to make them feel like we do. Then they will HAVE to be nice! And maybe one day, with this job, that inventor to show everyone to respect our shinier friends will be me._

Tooth began to daydream of all the different wondrous inventions she wants make, as she dips back into the alleys. More and more came to mind and she lost all track of herself in the process, it was almost a dreamlike state. She continued her thoughts of "funny-bots" to be a laugh at parties or clubs, or finally let man fly with wings. This was her second dream, to be able to fly on her own. She knew it wouldn't be easy and many had tried before her. Many of those who did either aren't alive or are injured beyond continuing. _Okay so I know that unlike most thoughts, any avian wings will not work. It is just way too many metal pieces and will more likely fall apart or be too heavy to soar before actual flight. On the other hand some of the other inventors have speculated more of a bat-like wing. This seems like a very good plan, as we would have support into the back, support along the wing lines with the finger like extremities. The only problem would be the aerodynamics. For a bat, they need only flap to keep themselves aloft; they do not soar as much as a bird would. And the amount of energy the wing would need to generate to keep a human airborne with flaps would be insanely large, at least, if the wings were flapping as slowly as a bat wing. . . THAT'S IT!_ Tooth smiles widely as her eyes focus on some imaginary object in the sky. She jumps for joy with a little squeak-giggle sound. She covered her mouth, whipping her head around to make sure nobody saw that, or heard that unnatural sound she made. After the coast was surely clear she started to smile brightly again; _That's right, insect wings! Keeping them moving fast to reduce the force needed to keep aloft, and easiest to navigate since it's the least reliant on the wind! Perfect!_

The sunny sky casting small shadows from overhead, as tooth thought deeply through her new invention idea. It was nearly an hour before she ran into anybody, which is the whole reason she took the alleys. She didn't enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city crowds. Knowing these side streets made everything so much easier. That is until a boy started running toward her. His blue hoodie was strange; most people didn't wear such bright colors out. He ran past her without a word, a bag in his left hand and what looked like a long metal pipe, hooked round like a crook. A voice calls from a few streets down. "STOP HIM! THEIF! THEIF!" After that, instincts took over for Tooth.

Before she could think she found herself sprinting after the kid. _What was that kid thinking? Stealing with a BLUE hoodie on?! What did he want to get caught? Heck I could spot him a mile away in this brown city! _She kept running and running all the way past alley entrances and exits until she finally got closer than half a block away. She started walking briskly instead, trying to be quiet in her large work boots. Obviously she wasn't quiet enough because he turned around right as she was walking up to him. Before any words were spoken she wrapped her arms around his neck, keeping them only a foot, no half a foot apart. He dropped his staff in his surprise, and it clattered noisily to the ground. To put it lightly he was awestruck. His pale face immediately froze, stricken with a light red blush, like blood on snow. He had good features, his face was thin and angular like fae her father told stories about. His eyes were bright unbelievably blue, more blue than the damned hoodie he was strutting about with. His hair was a pristine white, surprisingly clean considering the dirty city they lived in. And his mouth was thin and seemed much more used to smiling widely than the awkward grimace it had now. She smiled at him, an almost playful smile before leaning in. She could feel his heart beat grow faster through the sleeves of her work shirt. She started to feel secondhand embarrassment herself, and she blushed too. She flashed him a brilliant smile, showing off her bright teeth.

She leaned forward slightly, pulling him in, and made her move. In the blink of an eye she stepped one leg back, pulled him down, and kneed his ribs, hard. The boy gasped, cough, and screamed all at once as he crumpled to the ground. She had always enjoyed traditional arts her mother had insisted her taking up. But her favorite was always practicing Mauy Thai with her brothers and master. It was an old art of fighting more recently converted into a prize sport, but was still perfect for self-defense and those passionate for learning martial arts. It is a martial art prized for it's use of eight striking forces, the fists, feet, elbows and knees. It was especially known for the devastating latter two. She had trained since she was just able to walk, and helped her master teach each of her younger brothers. Even here in Burgess, alone still training herself in the art, and trying to master all she has learned and exploring the style on her own. This comes second only to work and inventing, of course. And with all that practice, if she had gone full force she would have shattered this poor kids ribs. "Just be glad I didn't aim any lower. You would never have kids, and may have never walked. Or you could have just died from the shock outright." She turns away grins to herself, feeling like one of those heroes in stories she loved reading.

She calls out to the man who had been following behind; he couldn't catch up to either of them because he was much older, probably late sixties. She didn't realize how in shape she had gotten from walking everywhere. She already had a very well toned-body from all her training, something she wasn't sure whether to be proud or ashamed of that in this country. All the girls try to be as weak as they can just for the curves and thinness. Beauty seems so important here, but why so forced and unreal? Aside from that she had a typical body for a healthy nineteen year old girl. But she didn't realize her running was so on point. Maybe it was the adrenaline? She shrugged, it didn't matter now. "Hey! I caught your thief!" she said turning back to see her handiwork, but the kid was gone with his staff, completely out of sight. "HOW IN THE-" she screams before the man arrives.

"Oh my, thank you! That was this week's replacement parts! I would have been screwed out of any customers this week without those! Thank you, thank you!"

"No problem!" She smiled politely and handed him the bag. "The guy got away but I did give him a beat down for you."

"Really now?" the man said with a smile, obviously not believing her, but just being polite. "Well thank you kindly! Tell ya what; next round of scrap is on me!" He exclaims happily.

Hell. Yes. This was just what she needed to start her latest project. "Yes! Thank you, thank you!" She beamed at him and he nodded fast. "But, not right now. I am on a grocery run for Redge. I will stop by this afternoon, okay?" The man nodded and thanked her again as he left. She smiled and waved him goodbye, but only halfheartedly. One thing still bothered her. _How on earth did that boy get away? That knee could have cracked a rib, and he just gets up and runs without me noticing or any sound? I guess with that stealth ya didn't need to dress the part. I wonder, how often he does this, maybe it was a job? Okay, slow down girl. You have more important things to think about, like wings. _But as she continued on her way she spared one more thought at the boys face. He was handsome, but his expression more childlike than a boy her age. Besides, she didn't need to think about some pale little thief. So her mind stopped and started wandering, but this time into the idea of her invention. All the new possibilities with all the scrap she needed. . .

A couple hours later she arrived home, carrying a bunch of groceries and a few that Redge needed. After quickly dropping those of she came to her little shack home. It wasn't much, but it was hers. Redge had always offered to let her stay with him, he had a house built around his garage by his dad. It was two story and very nice but Tooth really preferred the place to herself. Redge was awesome but she could not be comfortable living with him either. Her home consisted of a front room which connected to the kitchen, a bedroom with a bathroom, and an attic like storage area. She liked it and felt it cozy rather than small. While she didn't like small places, she never had guests so the size never bothered her. She had decorated everything herself, painting the walls all sorts of sparkling blues and greens and yellows. It was almost like the doll houses she had when she was little. Also since she didn't have much in the way of stuff, she decided to renovate that attic into her own little hobby room. It wasn't very big but it was perfect for creating and designing, or reading and writing. She also loved to sing up there, late at night when she knew nobody could hear her. She would sing quietly to herself out the window while others slept, but sometimes in the moment, more than she wanted to admit, she would let go and sing at full volume. It was very relaxing, and she wasn't very confident in her voice so the privacy really helped. Today was spent entirely planning and running around so she decided that after a bite to eat she could do for some R and R.

After a tasty dinner of a baked potato in a soupy broth she cleaned off all the days grime with a shower. Then, after all else was said and done it was finally time for her attic. It was by far the favorite part of the house. She jumped up into the air, pulling the chord down, revealing the ladder in the trap door, and slid it down to make her way up. It was very small, heck she barely had a foot over her head but she didn't mind. It was all hers and she really let it show. The entire room was strewn with books and papers and bits of metal or plastic. She brushed everything on the table to the side and sat down. She opened, and looked out the window, examining the wonderful but clouded sky outside. "Wow. Three stars out tonight, what a night. . ." She sighed disappointedly, but unsurprised. There were no stars here in the city; this was probably her least favorite part of this place.

She sighed again and began ache for her home. She wanted to see her little brothers, mother and father deeply. But that was impossible. She knew that more than ever now, after being here two years. She got to America in one piece surely on luck alone. She can't begin to count how many times the kindness of others had saved her on her way here. Before she knew it she was reminiscing the memories of days past, each one bringing more flush to her cheeks and more pain to her heart. _How could I even go back? What would I say? I apologize for running away from you all to go to America. But REALLY, me living out my dream was to help you! I knew we didn't have the money to take care of us all and I was taking the most as well as the one who didn't need to be around! _She knew exactly what her father would say to that, which didn't help her guilt any more.

"_Thia, sweetheart. We don't leave anyone behind, no matter what happens. So what we were a little low on money? I am still earning money from back home and we would have made do! You didn't need to run. Or did you want to leave us behind?_

_NO! Don't you understand? We needed this, it will help all of us. I- _Tears started to roll down Tooth's face. They were hot and bitter, tears of a guilty conscience. _I needed this. You know I wouldn't be happy living there in the country my whole life! I am nineteen years old father! I need to spread my wings on my own! Don't give me that disappointed look! You gave me these ideas of wonder in the world and you expect me to not try and attain them? Why not leave me ignorant of your world then, Father!_

The tears streamed down her face. She could picture her parents perfectly now, and she couldn't get the image out of her head. Her much older father having a deep somber expression of disapproval, his age shown more than it ever had. He always looked so youthful even with his age. Her mother with tear lines streamed down her face, she had cried herself to sleep countless nights worried about her daughter. "I'm sorry. . ." Tooth whispered to herself through the tears. She imagined her brothers, thirteen, eleven, and nine in age. They all looked at her with anger. How could she leave her, she was their family! "I'm sorry! . . ." She imagined her father looking grim now, like a shell of his former self. His once cheery plump face now skeletal thin and fierce eyes replaced the kindest eyes she had ever known. They just call to her, and call her a deserter. "I'M SORRY!"

She sobbed to herself; her relaxing night became another episode of guilt and homesickness. These were infrequent but the buried feelings always came out a little violently. After all, coming to America was her first time actually being away from her family, and with no way to contact them back she could only imagine their reactions, how they felt every day, or how they missed her back. She could only use memories to forge fake stories of the comings and goings of their day to day lives. It felt wrong for her to lie to herself about their lives but what else could she do? She was always so close with them and now, well, she was a world away. She felt torn between her old life and her new and for the first time in her life, even though she was surrounded by a hustling bustling city and new wondrous inventions and machines and people, she was truly and unavoidably, alone.

Through shaky breaths she finally calmed herself down. _Well, wasn't tonight relaxing Thia? We have got to try it again sometime. _She laughed humorlessly and leaned against the windowsill. Her bone-dry eyes scanned the city streets below, and she sighed. Did she make the right choice? Really? Sure she got to follow her dreams, but at what cost? She sighed, abandoning the question before she started to think it over. There was really no point in asking it, there was no way to answer that in real world scales and measures. You couldn't equate the hearts true feelings. She just had to give her all at everything until she could finally attain something, that purpose for being here. And maybe when she finally got further, she could see her family again.

Shaky breaths began to steady as Tooth rose up, lifted one leg after another out the window. She took a seat on the sill, feeling the night air cool her warm cheeks. She felt better but that pain still resounded in her chest, and there was only one way to be rid of it now. So, she did what she always did in these situations, she sang. It was a sad song, lonely to fit her mood. In the past it was a much happier song, reflecting happier times. It was a lullaby her mother had sung to her when she was young and afraid. It was in Thai, and not every word she understood perfectly but it was always comforting to her to hear or sing herself. It told of an orphaned child left on a cold night. He was alone and afraid in the dark wood, but the moon revealed herself to him and took him in. She shined the way to give him light to safety. She made the river slow for him to cross and give him a drink. She made the trees bow to let him up, and covered him in long leaves for comfort. There he slept and in the morning was saved by a pair of newlywed loved ones, who he told his story to, and took him in as their own.

When she had finished her song she felt a lot better. She must have made the song sound so depressing though, it deserved better. She scolded herself for it, and checked the time. With another scolding she ran downstairs. It was late and she had to go to bed for work tomorrow. She grinned widely; all the pain she was holding was gone so she could only think back happily on her family. She knew they missed her just as she missed them. But she knew they understood why she came, and even if they didn't agree they were wishing the best for her. She wanted to write to them, tell them all about her adventures, about Redge, even about that stupid punk with the blue hoodie. But all of that would have to wait. Right now she had to work her butt off so she could see them again, and she had no intentions of giving up. This was her dream and nothing would stop her from her dream and her family, absolutely nothing.

She let the ladder slide down to the first floor, but before descending she turned back for one last look at the starless night sky. One day, she thought, she would make an invention, an invention to suck up all this stupid smoke and all these stupid lights so she could have a perfect night sky in Burgess. Everyone deserved to see a night sky like she did at home at least once in their lives right? She smiled to herself, mentally noting it for future projects and went down the ladder. While she was looking at the night sky, earlier, sitting on her windowsill. If she had looked down for a moment she would have seen a very familiar roof of the shack next door. And on that roof she would have seen a very familiar chimney for the very familiar furnace next door. And if she had taken a very close look, she would have seen a very familiar crook, reflecting a little city light off of its metal exterior. And if she looked at who was holding said crook she would have noticed a very familiar blue hoodie.


	3. Chapter 2 - White Noise

_I AM SO SORRY! D: I have been trying to get this chapter up for about two weeks now but between school and the holidays it has just been too busy to think about it. It just sat around half way done! Ugh it bothers me turning this in late, and I will hopefully not do this in the future! ^-^ I would personally like to thank everybody that has given this little project of mine a chance and has come back to it! It means a lot to see you guys keeping up, even if it has just started. So thank you all, and sorry for the wait! Again, none of the chars are mine, just different takes on them and copywrite stuff blah blah. :P I hope you all enjoy! Comments or reviews are appreciated!_

Chapter 2

White Noise

The city spoke to him as he laid there, the city lights illuminating the sky. The automobiles and workshops still whirred and spluttered throughout the city. It created a cacophonous symphony for those who listened, but nobody did. It was all very personal sounds, but they were carried away by the wind, like secrets and hidden treasures. And all of these unheard secrets were carried by the wind and told to the only one who would give the time to listen to them, a young man named Jack Frost.

He had always found the wind relaxing, giving him all the news across the streets and sky scrapers. He occasionally heard a funny detail or an interesting tidbit of conversation. He liked to explore these, as he didn't have much to do during the night. He could never sleep after all. He would run up and down the roofs of Burgess, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as gracefully as a cat. He landed without a sound, not even from the large metal crook he had. He always carried the old thing around for as long as he could remember, however short that was. It was simple in shape but complex in design. It had a hexagonal width around the shaft, which was about as tall as him, a rather tall teenage boy. It had a small hollow in it's center, that reached all the way up to the other end, at the end of the hook's curve. Along the top of the shaft and the hook of the crook there were small hexagonal holes, like nuts without screws or the small nubs of a tree branch. He often studied the thing, every contour and shape on it was well known to him, even the noises it made as it swung or flew through the air.

Tonight was not the night for jumping or fighting, rather it was a night for relaxing and friendly conversation, between himself and the wind. On this night he was listening in on a very interesting conversation between whom he believed to be one of the officials of the city and what sounded like a prostitute. Maybe he could use this for blackmail? No that's too risky, and way too much effort. Once it turned from funny to disgusting he decided to turn his attention elsewhere. He lazily tuned into different directions trying to find something interesting until he heard a sound completely new to him. It was a beautiful voice, singing in words he had never heard and didn't care to. He could not help but stop himself mid motion to listen to this wonderful oddity. He got up, being sure to keep it in his field of hearing and headed towards it. He HAD to figure out what it was.

The voice enthralled him as he sprinted across rooftops, he did not even feel the stone underneath his feet as he ran and jumped. His run was more like a bound, as his nimble long legs took such long strides. He had only been running a short time before he got to the source of the song. It was a girl, around his age with beads braided into her hair. She was a more tanned skin than he was, but that was easy. He was paler than death himself. She also was tall and somehow familiar. And then it hit him like cold water splashed in his face. _That's the crazy girl from before! What the fuck is she doing here, and how in the hell can she sing so . . . awesomely. _He finished the thought with apprehension. He did not like the idea of complimenting the girl who nearly broke his ribs earlier. But he couldn't help but give her that much.

He decided to stick around, and at first it just got him angry. He could only think about how she screwed him out of a clean getaway and a great sale. He, in fact, sold stolen parts and devices for a living. Not exactly a glamorous life but it put food on the table. He would take these parts and scrap from unwary idiots and sell it back to other idiots for good money. His favorite was selling it back to the very person he stole it from, but that was only for the most Neanderthal. He had just taken a clean new shipment of parts right out from under the nose of that dumbass but then she came. First she started coming onto him, which at the time he couldn't tell if he liked or was creeped out about. Yeah, she was pretty but just some random girl out of nowhere grabbing the back of his neck like that? He could still feel where her soft hands were. _Soft? Where did that come from? _Shaking the thought from his head, he continued to recount the scene.

After that she leaned in on him, which is when he knew something was up, but he froze. _Smooth move, Frost. _And then she smiled and kicked him, and said something in a light accent that he was too agonized to understand. He only barely had time to slip round the corner and up a fire escape before she noticed. She knew how to hit hard but she seemed like an air head, way too easy to distract. That cost him his pay for the day, but good thing his last sale still had some money left, or else he'd have gone hungry today. _Whatever. I can just get something else to sell tomorrow. _As she finished up he scurried behind a ledge so she didn't see him. He only got up after he heard the click of her window and he decided stealing something would be pretty lame after a free performance. But she did owe him for that wicked kick. After some more thought, he voted against it. He did not want to face her in her own house, especially after he broke in. So he marked her house in his mental map of the city and headed out into the night, looking for another secret the wind would share.

Jack spends the next day conning and stealing his way to a week's pay. He had to work harder on account of yesterday, but he didn't mind. He found the work fun and when the chase was on it was exhilarating. He loved the wind blasting past as he easily outran any of these common people. After his long day he decided to treat himself to a midnight snack, on someone else's dime of course, and after taking some chocolate from the sweet shop he needed a show to go with his dessert. So he decided why not drop in on crazy girl. He didn't know what drew him to her voice; he could probably find a voice more beautiful somewhere around this city. But there was something so foreign about it. He had to hear it again. Come to think of it, for all the wind told him, he had never heard anyone singing. At least, he doesn't remember it.

A few years ago he had found himself alone, in an abandoned factory and completely amnesiac. That was weird. But what really made it weird was that the entire factory was frozen solid in a thick layer of ice. He woke up in the clothes he was wearing now; a bright blue hoodie, laced with a spiraling icy looking design in the fabric. It looked from a distance like his hoodie was lined with frost. This hoodie stood out from any of the dark and earthy colored clothing that anyone in the city wore, and was not the best choice for what amounted to a thief by trade. So during the day and jobs he stored it in the closest thing he had to a home, the factory. He instead wore an off-white dress shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows and open brown vest, both of which were ornamented with silver buttons. You could tell the clothing was quite valuable at one point, but lots of wear and tear made them look well broken in. He was also wearing some regular brown slacks, a pair of circular lensed goggles on his forehead, and no shoes. He hated shoes; they were clunky and slowed him down, and he couldn't feel his way around with them on. So he always went bare foot. Lastly he wore a small cloak-like cloth over his shoulders, which he could tie off at his chest. The inside was laden with pockets and perfect for quickly slipping away certain items that he recently acquired.

And the weirdest part wasn't his clothes. He looked like a weirdo, with his long spiky white hair that weirdly never went down. He tried occasionally to mat it down but it always popped back up so he stopped bothering. Aside from that he was sickly pale, thinner than a beggar, and had bright blue eyes. Yeah he had been mistaken for a ghost on a couple of occasions. After that he wandered around until he found Burgess, and set up his trade as a salesman of parts and scrap.

He arrived at the shack roof under her window, to find her window closed. He frowned, why did he think she would be out again? She sounded so sad last time, she was probably over it already. He scarffed down the last of the chocolate before hoping off the edge of the roof and wandering down alleyways, he was unable to shake a feeling of disappointment and that just made him pissed off. So over the next couple of nights he checked in on her, seeing if maybe she decided to come outside. It was to no avail. On the forth night he stamped his foot in frustration. _What is her problem! He has done her the FAVOR of checking in to see if she would sing! The least she could do is freaking sing! And why is this so annoying?! _He jumped off the building down the alley and ran. He wasn't thinking straight and new just how to change that.

He finally arrived; The slums were the perfect place to let off some steam. Conveniently they weren't too far off, so he rushed over to find some drunks or something. He wandered the alleys up and down the streets before finding a couple of thugs, antagonizing some girl. He sighed and slammed his staff against the wall. The clang was sharp and only resounded a moment. The thugs turned to him and the girl smiled at her savior. "What do you want kid?! Can't you see we are busy with our lady friend?"

"Yeah, I can lowbrow. But I can't help but notice how incredibly dull and ridiculous you are. I mean really, can you scream "useless dispensable henchmen" anymore?" The thugs growl and slowly back off the girl. He was their target now. The girl thanked him and he laughed, "Sorry lady, I just need to blow off some steam. Just get out of here before you get caught up in it." To this she gasps and runs off. Now it was just all of them alone, just the way he wanted. _Multiple opponents, enclosed area, nowhere to run, odds stacking against me as I think? This is beautiful. I can go all out, and it won't be my fault if these guys never walk again. _And then, they were on him.

To the untrained eye one would say he was going to die a bloody painful death, or at least get beaten to a pulp. But the real connoisseur of back alley brawls would know the stakes much more accurately. Sure he had not struck a single blow, he hadn't had time. All he had done was dodge, dodge, dodge. It was easy; these guys telegraphed their attacks like they were trying to sell tickets at the theater before opening night. He easily side stepped from one blow, ducked from another. He even hopped over a tackle by spring boarding off of the charger's back. After a while of these games they got angry and pulled out their weapons. Now things could get fun.

He took note of each before he went in, the big thug on the left had a pipe, brandishing it like a crude club. The middle had a chain he was swinging around, he probably thought he looked cool. Too bad he looked like a complete dumbass. The last guy, however, had some sense. He had a baton on him, but when he flicked on the power you could hear it hum rapidly. _Great, a stun baton. Those things had enough juice to take down the big guys the cops didn't think they could handle with regular batons. They were crude but effective, shocking you as they beat your face in. I'd never been hit by one before; heck I'm so thin the cops never thought to use it. And I am not ready to try it now. _

Jack took his moment as they were taking out their weapons to go in. The stun baton was the main priority, so he sprinted to the guy before jabbing him in the gut with the bottom of the staff, and twirling it to deliver a crack to the top of his head. The man fell to the ground unconscious, and his head began to bleed a little. _Man I probably hit him too hard. Eh, he's scum, he deserved it for something. _With a twirl of the staff Jack was ready to face the other two, but to his surprise they were already gone down the alley. "Hmph."

After a quick glance to make sure the girl was fine enough to make it home, but she was already gone. So he jumped up and grabbed a ladder off a fire escape, five feet above his head. He had strong legs, and he loved showing it, even when no one was looking. As he climbed he heard the sirens go off and police arrive and speak with the woman. They would have already been done with her by the time they got here, pigs being useless as usual. Jack decided staying here was not in his best interests and headed off to the neighboring rooftops and back toward the factory. He had enough of people for one night.

The next few nights were much less exciting. He continued to visit her nightly and found the time she generally came out, and started making it a nightly habit. These continued until the night before, Wednesday night. He could have sworn she saw him before he could hide under the ledge and decided that tonight was not the night to visit. So he spent the night alone, and all was quiet. Very, very quiet, as the wind didn't tell him of any problems or juicy gossip. In fact the wind was silent, which was eerie itself. _This town is never quiet. Ever. Even this late. _True it was well past one, according to the moon. But not a sound was heard in the air. There was no moon out that night. He saw only signs and street lights adorn the buildings and alleys, but no sound. No drivers, no late night walkers, nothing. Hell no animals were even around. This made Jack very uneasy.

Jack found himself sprinting from rooftop to rooftop, not wanting to stay in any place for too very long. Why was he so paranoid of this night? He loved the night! But everything felt strange. It was much darker than it ever was, and he thought he saw something creep around each corner. Every instinct he had; as a human, thief, city folk, everything was telling him to get out now. Silence was the enemy, outside sound covered his own, kept him blanketed, hidden. Most people thought that stealth revolved around silence, and while this was true it was also equally important to utilize outside wound to mask yourself. And when there was none he felt naked. The only thing he could see was a great source of light on the other side of the city, and he had no plans of going anywhere near that thing, so he just kept running. After a while he wasn't even sure where he was headed. He just kept running and running until, he heard her. That voice was piercing the suffocating silence this night. And when he heard her, the night felt entirely different.

He strode across a few rooftops as silently as he could before he dropped down and hid behind the same ledge as before. To his surprise she was wearing the same outfit he had met her in; normally she was dressed for bed. Tonight she wore a newsboy cap, her hair slipping out of it in random places like leaking dark streaks of water. She adorned with beads of no color in particular, but all sorts of them. She also wore a corset shirt, modeled after a white pirate like blouse. The top is cut off at the shoulders, leaving them bare. The blouse itself is loose, including the sleeves but instead of chords on the back it is tightened with small buckles and brown straps. The back of the blouse separates into coat tails at the end of the buckle line. Over her midriff and upper waste was an overly large belt that just rested on her hips. She wore a dark green pair of riding pants, which were very loud even for a dark color. She also wore a peculiar pair of boots. They were regular knee high boots, regular brown in color until you got to the ankle. There the boot stopped, and only connected to the foot by a pair of chords on either side of the ankle. _So that's how she is dancing like that in boots._ And boy was she dancing.

Tonight she was singing a much happier tune, and one he could understand the words to! She danced around the room as she sang, twirling and dancing. She wasn't any good, it was more the dance of someone who was completely comfortable in their isolation, not caring if they looked foolish. And even though she did she looked so incredibly happy. She sang a couple of songs that night, many folk songs that are usually sang in groups. She got louder than she ever had before. It was much later than usual so she must not think anyone could hear. But someone could, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. With a snicker, Jack continued to watch with a smile on his own face. Everything felt different now; Instead of a night suffocated it felt more hushed at her performance. After he watched for a long time he realized, she was dancing well, very well. All of the motions were deliberate instead of the wild flails of arms and legs he originally saw. She just wasn't dancing any dance from around here. No the motions must have been from another land entirely, which is why it looked so goofy to him at first. He smiled, the night wasn't so lonely anymore.

The night wore on and she seemed to be growing less rapid, her motions slowed down and she yawned once, interrupting her song entirely. Jack looked at her jealously, he wished he could at least try sleeping. She paused suddenly, and stared out the window, and he grew alarmed, and checked if he had made a sound. Then she bolted toward the window and ducked through it, grabbing the sides and standing on the ledge. She stared up at the stars as she sang one last slow paced song, her eyes filled with wonder and her voice filled with content. Jack, on the other hand, almost had a heart attack from the little stunt, and hid behind the ledge. She looked like she was charging straight for him. So he hid low behind the ledge, not daring to look back up as she finished her last song. He sighed in relief quietly as he heard her finish. He had to make a break for it as soon as she went in.

The girl just stood there a while, or that is what Jack assumed. He couldn't turn back to see her and she didn't make any noise of going back in or stepping, nor closing the window. She stood there for what seemed like forever before taking a step, and then everything went dark.

For a split second the stars were covered, a great shadowed object soared over his head and he jumped. "Shit!" he stood up and leaned back against the ledge after it passed his head and landed directly in front of him. The starlight was back and he saw her, the girl. She had jumped from the window to this roof. She turned around and stared at him, her eyes were fierce with anger. Her hands were balled into fists and she slowly walked toward him. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! I can't outrun this girl from this position. There is nothing to climb down either wall behind me! Well, maybe she won't be so violent this time._

The next thing he knew Jack was flipped down onto the ground behind the girl, his staff clanging to the side of the roof. He groaned loudly as she stepped over him with her fist raised and her other hand grabbing at the collar of his shirt. _Well it was a good try hoping. _

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?! WHY ARE YOU OUTSIDE MY HOUSE?! You're that boy from before! The thief! What are you here for, revenge? Steal my stuff? Slit my throat in my sleep? Worse?!" Her hand came down next to his face, and she didn't even flinch as he heard a loud crack of the roof tile next to his ear.

"Woah, woah! Take it easy! I was NOT here to do anything like that!" he said, trying to lift his hands in a passive manor, but she had her knees locking his arms onto the rooftop. "Honestly! I am not here for anything like that, I wouldn't even steal anything from you anyway!" 

"Why in the heck would I believe that?! I saw you steal that man's stuff, so obviously you don't have the best morals. What could you possibly be doing here then!?"

Jack thought it over briefly and decided that telling much anything other than the truth right now would be a sure fire way to feed him his own teeth, "I am a parts thief, you don't have anything I could sell so why would I steal from you?! And I was just passing through."

"Bull crap!" she said before letting her arm fly. He was just ready to kiss solid food goodbye before he felt a sharp pain in his cheek.

"OW! You slapped me!" Jack said more in surprise than pain. He was thankful he wasn't bleeding or missing teeth but he couldn't say he was expecting that.

"Be lucky I didn't do some dental work! I saw you here the other night! AND I watched you for three minutes straight just sitting there! Why would you need to hide if you were just "passing through."

_Shit, she did see him. Well, lying after telling the truth didn't work. I don't think she will believe anything I say, but I might as well try. _

Jack sighed before he continued, "Fine, fine! You are right, I was sitting here. I was listening to you sing."

The girl looked at him, scrutinizing him, checking for one crack in his response. He just stared back, hoping to god she didn't knock him into next Tuesday. "Why, would you be listening to me sing?" she says, carefully choosing words. Her eyes were still very untrusting, but he was making ground.

"Because, well, you are good! You don't hear many people sing around the city, or any for that matter. And I was interested in who it was one night. It was just a coincidence it was you, I just wanted to listen."

She gave him another long hard look, by the look on her face she seemed a little creeped out, "And then why did you come back?" she said, sounding like she was afraid to know the answer.

"Well, there isn't that much to do at night. So I decided why not listen to some good music rather than nothing." he smiled, that part he could say was the uncovered, unaltered, one hundred percent truth.

She just looked at him, her face was blank and she must have been working out what to do. Her hand wasn't fiercely balled into a fist but she still had it raised up behind her head, ready to strike. And she did. Another slap rang across his face and he yelped, "OW! Hey! I told you the truth, okay?! What was that for?!"

She shot him a smug smile, "Yeah, I know you did. And that was for listening in on me like a creep and peeping on me."

Jack flared up at the last part, "I did NOT peep! I only listened!"

"I don't know that. Besides, you had to look at me when I was singing or else you wouldn't know I was the singer, therefore peeping." she said before slapping him again, and again. She slapped him back and forth a couple times.

"Ow ow ow! Stop it, stop it! I am sorry, okay?!" he whines lamely before she stops and stands up. Jack rubbed at his cheeks, now bright red in big red blotches the size of her palms.

"Hey!" she said sharply, "Be thankful! I should break your legs for being a creep! But you weren't doing it in malice, so I won't." she curtly hmph'ed and stepped off the ledge, back to the window. There she turned back to him, looking him over one more time. She seemed like she was thinking over something. After a moment he almost asked her what was up but she cut him off before he could start, "And next time, if you are gonna come here for some show, you had better let me know you are there or I swear I will clobber you." she said, raising her fist with a smile.

He didn't know what to say, so he just smiled back and nodded. "Fine, fine. I will announce myself, princess." he said snarkily with a deep mocking bow.

"Hey! My name is not princess!" she said shooting him a dirty look.

"Then what should I address you as, your highness?" he continued smiling. This girl was fun to annoy.

"A "peasant" should introduce himself before his betters." she said with an equally mischievous smile. To this he frowned. He was the smart aleck, and no one else could be.

"My name, your highness, is Jack Frost. I am pleased to make your acquaintance." he made another bow, except he was much more bitter sounding this time around.

She laughed, not what he was expecting, "Jack Frost? What kind of name is that!?" he blushed. He thought it sounded cool, and it made sense. But of course she didn't know anything about him so it probably sounded a lot dumber.

"Shut up! Well then, what is a proper name from a land far away, _princess_?!" he emphasized it this time just to bother her.

"Stop that, ugh! My name is Tooth! I mean Thia! Well, friends call me Tooth but my name is Thia. So stop with the stupid princess crap!" she groaned as she said it. She removed her hat and ran her hands through her hair, which fell out sloppily. It was a great mess of beads and black waves, as well as a few braided ends, which were the most colorful parts. He could not say he had ever seen anyone with such a strange set of hair.

"Tooth?! Hah! And you said I had a weird name?! At least mine is actually a name!" he stuck his tongue out at her, purposefully looking as childish as possible. She was so easy to work up.

"Shut up!" It was her turn to say it; "It is a nickname okay?! I didn't choose it!" she yelled at him, her hair bouncing as she shook her head.

"Whatever you say, _Tooth_." he smirked, hammering the nail home. He would not be the only one who was embarrassed tonight, no sir. No he intended to repay her for making a fool of him and slapping him like a crazy lady. She groaned again, but just turned back into her house and waved backwards to him. He laughed as she closed the windows and shot him a dirty look as she shut the curtains, which he had never seen her do. After this event though, he figured she would start drawing the curtains every night; He sighed, not really caring one way or another. But, he supposed, he would come back another night. Not tomorrow, no that would be way too lame. Or would it? Oh whatever. He could figure it out another time. But now, the wind was alive once more, and all the knowledge in the world was at his fingertips. He ran a few blocks across the helter-skelter rooftops until all he could hear was the wind in his ears. He laughed, grinning from ear to ear. It was like a long lost friend coming back. He didn't think about what happened that night or why the world became so dark, or that blinding light from before. All he wanted now was to kick back and listen to the wind call back at him. So he did just that, right on that roof. Jack Frost let himself fall backwards, landing with a soft "umph" and stared at the moonless sky all the way until morning.


	4. Chapter 3 - Partners

_Helloooo readers! I am so sorry for the long wait for this, all of my apologies! T-T Just before Winter Break, my laptop decided it was time after its five year life-cycle to die. So I was unable to write for a while. ): But Conveniently, I had gotten a new laptop for Christmas! It was originally for school but now I adopted it for all purposes. :P So as quickly as I could I booted up what little was left of my old hard drive to gather my data, including stories, transferred, and here we are! I must say I tried very hard to get this out quickly, but I couldn't let myself shell it out without proper checking. Not to mention the fact that this was probably the longest chapter yet. *Hopefully to be usurped by every following chapter :3* So now I must say, thank you very much to those of you that had messaged and given reviews! I would be happy to give shout outs, but I don't know whether or not you would rather remain anonymous xD Well if you would like me to I am perfectly happy to give shout outs to those amazing people! Till then, you know who you are. :3 Once again giving thanks to mOOn-stArs-sUn for helping me ensure everything was grammatically correct and presentable! Also thanks to all of the people behind RoTG! I am not stealing, this is just fan stuffs which I don't own, in an alternate universe! *Don't sue me please :P* Well, I apologize once more and thank you all for your patience, reviews, reads, messages and coming back after that break! You're all awesome and I can't wait to put up the next chapter VERY soon! ^-^_

Chapter 3 – Partners

A brilliant morning light was the greatest way to start today: The day that would change everything. Today was the day that could make or break her chances at her dream. But that morning was not the usual calm morning. No, everything was abuzz with activity in her small shack. She had sent papers flying several times and was throwing clothes around haphazardly. _Crap! No, no, no, no! C'mon focus, focus! We don't want to make a bad first impression on our future boss do we? Darn it! But what to wear?! I can't wear anything I use for work, but I can't use anything normal either! I have to look presentable! But I can't look too dainty either or he won't take me seriously! _Tooth had finally gotten all her papers into a briefcase, leaving room for her crowning achievement. But before she could put it away and leave, she had to get dressed! She had a lot of clothing, and none of it was brought from home, sadly. So all she had that were formal was some dresses she had picked up on a whim, and some Redge got her for birthday gifts. _Hmm, I could go with the black dress, matching stockings and put my hair up. Ugh, but that's so dark looking! This is a job interview, not a funeral. Ugh. How about. . . _

"AHHH!" She can't believe it took her this long to piece together. She rifled through her lightly filled closet and found the pieces in an epiphany. Perfect for the occasion, comfortable but classy, slim and not revealing, and colorful but not loud! It was a blue cotton cape coat, with a light brown belt filled with small tools for repairing her creation if needed. She also wore white tights and regular brown boots with a small strap of blue on top. She was feeling blue was a lucky color today, it was just right. She looked at herself in the mirror; she was ready.

"Yes!" She grinned widely and got to putting away the invention before getting ready. It was very fragile, well not really. It was made of metal so it wasn't entirely fragile but she cradled it all the same, like it was her own infant. It really was quite clever, at least that's what her neighbors, and Pitch, thought. It was a little bird-like contraption, with wide set of insect wings. Its function was that of a carrier pigeon. It had a small door inside for storing packages and letters, as well as arms and legs with cables wound up in them to wrap around larger packages. The real achievement in the inventions was the wings, as they had taken the most work and really made the machine work. She gently put it away into a hardcover carrying case and locked it up.

_Today really is the day. . . _It all felt so surreal. How do you prepare for the day that makes or breaks your future? What should she say? The note cards she wrote on felt so small and worthless when she imagined herself in that room. It wasn't like presenting to a group, at least one of them would like you. Everything was riding on this one man's approval. The idea chilled her to the bone. Tooth slowly got ready, her energy forcing her through the motions like a puppet. The possibility of failure; a powerful idea slowing her down, but she refused to give it fuel by imagining the outcome. She refused to let the fear take over. She had to be strong, confident; Tooth had to prove it to everyone that she would make it in this country. She had to prove it to herself. After what seemed like an eternity of preparation she finally took the beads out of her hair and let it flow down naturally. It was strange to her, she took them out every evening but never like this. It was like taking away part of her identity. She shook it off with a laugh. It was for one afternoon, so why be so dramatic? The laugh helped her confidence boost up once again and when she walked down the stairs she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

"C'mon Too-Woah." Redge stopped mid-sentence as Tooth walked down, carrying her bag of files and invention. "Are you sure this isn't a date? You look awfully well dressed for just a job interview." Redge crossed his arms and scrutinized her as she walked past.

"Please, Redge, I don't date people for jobs. What do you think I am?!" Tooth scolded the much larger man. Redge slumped down and mumbled an apology, only to be met by her laughter. "I am just kidding, don't worry about me! I am not interested in anybody, especially not a future boss."

"Don't you mean a _possible_ future boss?" Redge asked, pouring his glass of juice. He set it on the counter and began going through his small refrigerator.

"No, my definite future boss." She said before she gulped down the juice and shouted her goodbye. It was finally time to head out. Just as she expected she found Jack Frost waiting out across the way for her. They had been meeting every other night and she started trusting him a bit more than not at all. When she had brought up her job interview to him, he proposed to walk her to the job today. After some thought she accepted. Why not? It would keep her from thinking of her nerves.

"Hey there! Well aren't you all dressed-up." Tooth rolled her eyes, waving back to him. "So, ready for the big day?" he asked as they began walking.

"As ready as I will ever be. It is tough to feel ready for something like this. Especially with someone as intimidating as I am trying to work for." She imagined Pitch's tall silhouette and hoped he had some assistant in the room with them. He was respectable but he creeped her out.

"Relax! Just show him the invention and he will be begging for you to come work for him! He did invite you after all!" How was he so carefree about this? Maybe if HIS future was riding on this one meeting he wouldn't be so cheeky. 

"You're right. I will just make sure he can't say no!" She punched the air in front of her, her drive spilling forth through a great big grin. 

"There ya go! That's the spirit!" Jack said slapping her back. They talked for a long time, about all sorts of things. They talked a lot about the job, but they soon deviated into all sorts of other topics. They talked about the some of her newer ideas. They talked about Jack gathering her some parts for the right prices. They even talked about nonsense like what they were hungry for. After Jack explained a deeply detailed dinner plan, including all sorts of rich sweets and succulent meat they arrived. It felt like no time at all, when in fact almost an hour had passed. "So on top of the rare to medium rare steak, drizzled in Wisticher sauce I will have a plate of diced potatoes and melted butter on the-Hey are you listening?!" Jack gave her an indignant look; he was just about to get to the best part! But when she pointed forward Jack understood why. He looked up to their destination, the Unified Power Institution building. It was a monumental building, several times larger than any building nearby. It has a gothic design, including the occasional gargoyle or spire. It has a large staircase leading up to an open double doorway. It was all very grand and, "Oh." was all Jack could say.

"Well, here we are." Tooth said with a small smile. She was still very nervous but would not show it to anyone, especially Jack. "Thanks for walking me, I will see you around." She waved and hurried up the stairs, leaving Jack along on the threshold. She got to the top, walking straight through the doorway at the same pace and found herself in the middle of a large reception area. The room looked too big for its purpose, or maybe he just had more people than usual coming in for meetings. She was the only one there at the time, aside from the receptionists. She made her way to the counter and the receptionist perked up.

"Hello! What can I do for you today, miss?"

"I am here to see Mr. Pitch, we have a meeting discussing a future in his inventions department?" She tried to keep her voice from waving and did so for the most part. The receptionist smiled and told her to wait a moment as she called it in. A few moments later a man entered the room from an elevator she had not even noticed and beckoned her toward him. Tooth followed and shook his outstretched hand.

"Welcome Ms. Naa Ron, my name is Mr. Cross and I will be the one interviewing you today. I know you were looking forward to seeing Mr. Pitch," he started when she donned a confused expression, "but he is terribly busy, and sends his apologies. He has another deal going through this evening concerning some of his shareholders and cannot relinquish any time."

She simply nodded and waved it away. "No, no. I completely understand." She smiled but was thoroughly disappointed that she could not meet such a great man. Hopefully she could soon.

"Excellent! Well, follow me and we shall begin the interview in a more comfortable setting." Tooth was happy to get out of this room, it felt too empty. When she got in the elevator she smiled and relished in the sound of gears lightly grinding as they ascended. The elevator was much less extravagant as the previous room but she appreciated it. It looked much more mechanical and made her more comfortable, oddly enough. She didn't like small confining spaces, but her love of machines overtook it now. When they arrived and departed the elevator she was awestruck by the room they reached. It looked more like a dining room than an office or meeting room. There was a long table with rows of chairs on each side, each ornately designed in a gothic design. In fact, the entire room matched the design, right down to the fireplace at the far end. Mr. Cross led her to this end, where they began to discuss her possible employment. She explained what job she was applying for, her strengths, achievements and past work. She had memorized that and it was a breeze. Then came the machine. She was asked to explain it and demonstrate it and she opened the bag letting it rest on the table.

"Here is the prototype, I haven't exactly come up with a name for it yet so I have just taken to calling it baby tooth." She immediately regretted saying that, as Mr. Cross simply nodded and waved her to go on. She operated the machine after a quick check and explanation of working parts. After the demonstration he thankfully looked far more impressed.

"I must say, Miss Naa Ron, I am quite pleased with your work. Now Mr. Pitch had given me a strict order, to only give you this contract if you had proven yourself to me. And I thoroughly believe that you deserve the job." She smiled, and wanted to scream in joy. _No Tooth, we can't afford to blow it at this stage. _Instead she smiled and thanked him calmly. "Here you go, a contact Mr. Pitch wrote himself. Just sign on the dotted lines and we are in business!" He smiled and handed her the contract. She then sat down, taking the pen from his outstretched hand and began reading over the contract. When she finished reading the first full page and started the second of thirty or so Mr. Cross asked, "What are you doing?"

"I am reading the contract, what else?" she said turning the page again.

"Oh, right," he responded, sounding a little stupid. "I am just not used to people actually reading the contract. In fact I do need to be ready for another meeting soon so if you could just sign-"

Before he can finish she interjects. "This is a very important document to me, Mr. Cross, so I will be sure to read it in full. If you would like to leave for your meeting I understand but I must be sure of what I am signing myself into." Mr. Cross frowns and sits back in his chair, waiting for her to finish. After only a few minutes she calls to him. "Sir, I do believe there is some mistake. It says here that I will not get reimbursed for any of the models made, nor will I retain the right to create them on my own."

"Well, yes, you will get a monthly wage as well as rights to use our brand-"

"Four dollars a month?! I can make more than that by selling groceries on the street!" She finishes the document and looks at him astonished. "I am very cross… Mr. Cross. I did not find any sort of benefits in the documentation, nor did I find any reasonable form of income! This document is basically stating that I will give you my invention with no strings attached, for the _honor _of working under your brand name! Is this the case?! Am I to live off of scraps as your company makes money off of my 'groundbreaking invention' far exceeding my own?! It takes more than one hundred dollars to make ONE of these!" She felt herself getting flustered and her hair began sticking out in odd angles from all the snapping her back and forth from the document and Mr. Cross as she got more and more excited.

"Ms. Naa Ron, I assure you that this is just for starting employees, you shall be fully reimbursed for _future_ inventions!"

"Oh really?!" Tooth said, crossing her arms. "Or will you just drop me off of the payroll. And my payment is guaranteed only for the first year! How am I supposed to make more inventions off less than enough to feed _one_ girl a month?! I am sorry Mr. Cross, but this offer, even with such an extravagant company is just insulting." She gathered her stuff as Mr. Cross crossed his arms crossly.

"You are seriously going to deny the largest corporation in the city, no the country, just because of poor wages?!" As he spoke his voice increased an octave each word. "We will make or break your career and you will walk away from that simply because of poor starting conditions?!"

"Poor?! Poor starting conditions, with all due respect is an understatement. I cannot feed myself on such a small sum. And the allotted hours requested in the contract will not allow me time for another job! So as much as I would love to work here, if I cannot have enough to sustain myself at the very least, then I cannot drop my job to work here!" She turned to leave as Cross called out;

"Wait! Alright, alright! I admit, you are sharp. I personally can talk Mr. Pitch into giving you a _much _grander deal, including a decent starting salary, benefits, living arrangements, and rights over your creative works." He finishes in a very luxurious tone, like honey was dripping from each word.

"Really? What's the catch?" Tooth asked skeptically, maybe this was the real offer and they just tried to blindside her, and not give her real payment unless necessary. Whatever it was, the company was sounding shadier than she had originally believed.

"Yes! In fact," he walks over to her, "there is only one simple thing you must agree to, first." He proceeded to take her hand in his, and say, "You must devote yourself entirely to the company. You may not work for any others, or sell the products on your own. You will live on company property and you must give _everything_ to ensure the continued prosperity of the company." His voice sounded like honey to match his handsome looks, but his eyes looked greedy, wanting. She felt ready to scream. She yanked her hand away before he could tighten his grip.

"What are you suggesting, Mr. Cross?!" she asked, planting her foot behind her. Footwork was absolutely necessary for fighting, but she could fake him out by leaving her hands down.

"Why, what do you think I mean? I am just suggesting, that maybe we could cut a deal or two of our own." As he spoke he eyed her up and down, and she didn't want to imagine what he may or may not have been thinking, but he told her outright. "You know, you look great, but I imagine you being even lovelier in black." He sounded complementary but it only made her feel like she was going to throw up. This combination of blackmail and attempted seduction was the last thing she expected from such a well-dressed, and equally well-mannered man as he was.

"I believe that this is where I take my leave, good day Mr. Cross," she said, not wanting to hear any sort of new "deal" he would pitch to her. If Pitch had written that contract and that slime-ball was the one she had to discuss a job with, she didn't want to risk herself at this company.

He called after her as she briskly walked to the elevator, and called for it. "Now hold on a minute, miss. I will have you know that this is the best, _once in a lifetime _chance you will get at this business. Consider how much easier making a name for yourself with the resources and already established brand we have would be! You will be looked after and cultivated to further than you could get with ANY other company! What is a few small deals between associates when the future of your career is on the line?" He spoke in a calm and friendly tone. He sounded so kind, as if he understands what she feels like. His words made it seem, somehow, like he knows exactly what it was like to be lost and alone in a new country. "I understand you, Tooth. I don't want to see you live on the streets. If you were to join us, join me here, I will ensure you will never worry for anything. . ." His words hang in the air, his face motionless momentarily, sorrow in his eyes. Those eyes, a twang of sadness rang through them, and it felt as if she alone was what he sought after. Those eyes seemed to plead to her to come back to him, and his handsomely thin physique looked just as pleading, hunched over in what she could only describe as a refined beg. She felt sorry for him, and she could not understand why. He seemed a mystery and she wanted to know what exactly he wanted, even though only moments ago she had been horrified by him. She still was, but this . . . _feeling_ was more powerful. She tried to fight at it but to no avail, she began to step towards him against her own will, but a faint sound broke the spell. The ding of an elevator, feeling so far away, resounded through the room. The doors opened behind her and her instincts kicked in, and she got in immediately. His face changed from pleading to something much different, and in the crack of the door she saw him rush toward the elevator. The fire had masked his face entirely in darkness, aside from those piercing eyes. But she felt as if that was for the best. She never wanted to see that face again, that face that almost dragged her to a nightmare.

She hurried down the stairs of the main building to find, to her surprise, Jack Frost awaiting her. He smiled when she ran near but that smile quickly faded to a worried expression. What gave it away? She must have looked how she felt inside and not noticed. "Tooth!" he yells to her and ran up the stairs. "What happened?! You just started crying as soon as you walked out of the doors! Did you not get the job?!"

"Oh." was all Tooth said at first, she hadn't even noticed the tears stream down her face. Of course she would cry one of the few times she wore makeup. "No, Jack, I didn't get the job. But that is probably the best part about what happened." She didn't want to talk about that. When Jack shot her a questioning look she just shook her head. She didn't want to talk about being treated like a slave to be, or about the sleazy deals he tried to put her through. She didn't even want to think about any of it, especially whatever he did that made her _reconsider. _That is what truly shook her to her core. She knew exactly what he wanted, what he was saying, all of his intentions in those eyes. But no matter what she said to herself or tried to do those same eyes drew her in like golden quicksand round a black hole, a grasp that was seemingly inescapable. She shook from imagining the scene again, and Jack placed his hands upon her shoulders. She jolted upright at this, with a, "What?!"

"Tooth, are you okay?" He really did sound like he was concerned. She shook again, shivering in the warm sunshine. But inside everything felt cold and dark, she felt weak and she hated it. Just this once, she could let someone help her bear the weight. Who would have thought it would be this weirdo?

"No." She said honestly. "I just need to get home, rest awhile."

Jack simply nodded and asked, "Can you walk?" She would under no circumstances let him carry her.

"I will be fine, c'mon." She started to walk, her pace slower than she had ever seen before. What was wrong with her?! She felt ready to black out, and waves of nausea were washing over her. Her legs were weak and barely keeping her upright. Just then, that man Cross burst through the doors. "Wait! Stop!" He said in that same pleading tone. Every fiber of her being sprang in protest, and to stop herself from hearing that disgustingly sweet tone she screamed, "JACK, RUN! NOW!" She had no intention of letting whatever had happened before happen again. So she ran, against the wishes of her body she ran harder than she ever had before. Jack followed at a regular pace at first, but saw her haste and quickly followed suit. She never turned back, not once, or else she might have seen those eyes again. She also would have seen Mr. Cross' face momentarily contort with anger, and turn back into the building.

They ran for what seemed like forever, ducking and weaving between people, carts, and signs. Finally she could take no more and had to stop. She leaned against the wall, heaving and hacking like an asthma attack. Jack arrived next to her within five minutes or so, and found her slumped down against the wall. She was glad he hadn't been there a few minutes earlier, or he would have seen her barely make it to the garbage can in the alley in time to throw what little she had for breakfast up. She now just sat there, trying to catch her breath and think straight. Jack kneeled next to her, catching his own breath. "What-"he took another gasping breath; "What was that about?!" A less forced breath started to calm his fiery lungs, letting him speak. "And why did we run all the way back to your house?!" Tooth looked up and found that, in fact, this was her block. Just across the street to their right was her home. The Redge's home and workshop was just to the right of hers and only the corner was visible round the building she leaned on. She wanted to explain, in the fastest and least detailed of explanations how dangerous that guy was. But she couldn't, she just coughed and shook her head.

"Let's talk about it later Jack. I can't right now." She picked herself up, and began the trek toward her house.

"Tooth! Wait!" he called, and she just waved weakly.

"I will see you tonight, okay?" She gave a thumbs up to the boy behind her, and he agreed. She opened the door, leaning on the frame for support, and shut it behind her slowly. It took her a minute to make it up the stairs but she was finally in her room. She dropped the blasted bag, and she felt so much lighter. Being rid of that bag let her walk to her bed rather easily, relatively. She stood above the bed, staring down at it, and sat. Tooth closed her eyes, she trying to calm down, but she saw those eyes again, those damned eyes. In a fit of rage she twisted round and punched the wall. Her fist went through cleanly, all except a long cut across the top of her forearm. She smiled, the dull pain numbed her mind to thought. She was used to pain in her arm, especially with practicing a martial art like Muay Thai that used the forearms for defense. But the cut still hurt and she was glad for it, oddly enough. She got up and wrapped the wound, it wasn't deep but it was long, and wrapping it would be better than falling asleep with a gaping gash. Once all washed up she lazily took off her nice dress, noting to repair the sleeve later, and slipped into some shorts and a tank top. She flopped onto the bed; she was beyond exhausted, mentally, emotionally, and physically. So slowly, she let herself be taken by sleep.

She awoke to find herself in her room, the cold night air stung her cut much sharper than before. She was freshly wet with thin layer of ice cold sweat. She must have had a nightmare. She rubbed at her wounded arm, before getting up and heading downstairs. When she looked downstairs, she found that it was pitch black, just like her room. Of course, she had fallen asleep without turning on any of the lights. She stumbled around a moment until she found the switch and flicked it on. A loud popping sound erupted above her and she jumped. "Frak!" She looked around, nervously and sighs, figuring it out. _Oh, the light bulb popped. Well, downstairs isn't safe anymore. I better wait till morning so I can pick up the glass. _She wandered back upstairs and heard a crunching sound underfoot. "Agh!' she shouted and picked her foot up. Some of the glass gotten on the stairs! She gingerly walked back upstairs, using her heel rather than stepping on her stabbed foot, and made it up. She then washes off the cut and takes out the glass. It was still hot. "Frikkin frak." She said, rubbing the foot gingerly after it was bandaged. She was really banged up wasn't she? Well, she wasn't tired anymore so she may as well work on some inventing, or maybe Jack would be here soon. She looked outside and saw no moon out. She frowned, and checked her clock instead for the time. _Four thirty?! CRAP! Did I miss him?! _Tooth opened the windows wide and looked outside her window, back and forth. She found a thin silhouette out on the roof across. "Jack!" She sighs in relief, and stepped out of her window. As soon as she climbed up, she felt a sharp pain in her foot and shrieked, and tumbled out of her window. Either luck or instincts let her hand scramble and grasp the edge of the roof across from her home. "JACK! HELP ME!" she screamed, the freezing cold night air sliced at her throat and she coughed loudly, only making it worse. She heard a slow shuffling and saw a hand take her own. She smiled in relief, and called, "Great! Now pull me up!" The night air seemed to muffle her voice, and for some reason, staring upward, she noticed not a star was visible. In fact there was no light outside. The hand slowly raised her up, past the ledge and hung her mid-air. "Jack! What are you-"She stopped, paralyzed from head to toe as she saw those eyes one more time.

Cross was standing there, with a greedy grin on his face. "Hey there, _Tooth._" The way he said her name felt like ants crawling under her skin. She went to punch him, but looked down and saw nothing but black. There was no light to see the alley below. It was only two stories, wasn't it? She ground her teeth, but hesitated on striking.

"Why are you here, creep?" She coughed again, it felt like smoke was in her lungs. The air was so thick with cold it may as well have been smoke.

"I am here for you _Thia, _I am here to make you accept our deal, or shut your mouth for good. We can't have you telling about a deal we tried to make with you, of course no one would believe you, but it is bad publicity nonetheless. So I will offer you a deal, one _final _deal." His voice was sickly sweet and he sounded almost sing-songy. He was enjoying her struggle, enjoying her helplessness. "Now you will join us and become my dog-my _bitch._" This change in wording made him smile in glee, he must have known it only pissed her off even more. "You will become a tool for the company, do all we ask, not ever talk back. You will become our servant, for whatever we wish to use you for. And in return, I shall not end your life." He laughed and rather than warm breath she was greeted with a freezing cold blast of humid air. It was somehow more disgusting, and it filled her lungs like water, then ice. She grit her teeth again and with some pain said, "Go and _**Fuck**_ yourself, Mr. Cross." She spat every ounce of anger she could into those words, but he only laughed, washing her in another wave of nauseating breath. He leaned her close, now each word he spoke buffeted her in the stuff. "Thia, please, don't be so formal. We are associates. . . Partners. . ." He wrapped his free hand around hers and she let out a cross between a grunt and scream, wrenching the hand away. "Be careful Thia, I will lose my grip if you keep acting so . . . Violently. Now, do stop being so childish and come with me. I know all about you, just a poor defenseless girl from a land far away. I know you can't hide yourself from this big city well enough. I know you are alone, I know you are afraid. And, as much as you hide it, as far down as you bury it, I know you are weak, weak, _**weak. **_

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" She punched him in the chest, and her arm began to bleed from the gash. She kicked his side and her cut on her foot opened. They burned white hot in the cold and the pain was unbearable, it brought stinging tears to her eyes.

"See?" He motioned with his hand, up and down her body. "This. . . 'Strength' you have is merely a front. On the inside, where it counts, you are a sniveling weakling. And I will dominate you." He finished with a sweet tone, like a poison dagger dipped in sugar. He slid his hand up her arm, and smeared blood up the side, so cold it felt like ice water. Cross smiled, and lightly grasped the underside of her chin.

Without thinking, she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Jaaaaack!" The scream should have rung through the air, echoing off the buildings. He should have heard it, he had told her just this morning that he always listens to the night. But the night muffled it, her throat was filling with something, white hot turned ice cold as soon as the night air hit it. Her throat was bleeding. It became so raw from screaming, and waking dehydrated she had caused it to bleed. It felt like drowning, even though there was only small trickles. All she could smell now was the blood, all she could taste. She spat some up right onto Cross, who seemed only happier now.

"Jack, you say? Oh, you mean the boy with white hair? Yes I ran into him an hour or two ago, it seems we both had dates with you this evening. But I refuse to be outdone." He kicked something upward into his free hand, and she felt something wrap round her waist. It was a cold metal hook, and the realization hit her. Not letting him begin another damned sentence she swung forward, kicking his chest with both of her feet and pushing herself and the hook out from the man's reach. He yelled in pain then rage as he reached out after her, but she was too far. She smacked her back upon her window ledge, shooting agonizing pain up and down her whole body, and descended into the murky black below.

"Tooth!" a familiar voice called out to her. She screamed and scooted backward, which shot pain up the small of her back. She winced, and looked upwards through hazy eyes to see Jack standing over her on the foot of her bed. She sighed in relief and relaxed her muscles, letting her arms and legs hit the floor lightly. They too shot pain through her, and she looked to find that the foot of her bed was smeared with blood on the corner, and that her gashed arm had been bleeding lightly. Again, she was a mess. Not only the blood, but her clothing stuck to her with sweat. She groaned and got up, just thankful that nightmare was over.

"Jack?" she asks with a foggy mind, "how long have you been here?"

He shook his head. "Only a few minutes ago, I saw you thrashing in your sleep and you fell over and woke up. Are you okay?" He looked over her worried, and she nodded hastily, and got up. She felt a dull pain in her foot but decided to ignore it, it wasn't even bleeding anymore.

"I am fine. Sorry I wasn't up for our meeting," she said to hastily change the subject.

"Oh, it is fine. We have time now! I decided to put our plan into motion!" he said with a grin, waiting for a response.

". . . huh?" she said after a few moments of pause, unsure of what he meant.

"Our plan? Since you aren't working for Pitch I decided to ask around and see if any buyers were interested on you making them models! I already have six people down for orders within the month!"

"Seriously!?" As she asks her jaw drops. Jack just nodded excitedly and she jumped lightly, landing mostly on her good foot. "Thank you so much Jack!" She leaned forward and hugged him tightly, and in response Jack made a strange noise in surprise. She quickly let go, realizing she was filthy right now, but he didn't seem to have minded, still smiling. 

"I am glad you are excited, but you have to get these out fast! How are you gonna do it?!"

She paced back and forth, her mind completely blocking out the pain. She was completely wired and ready to go now, and her mind was working feverishly now. "Well, I am going to sell the prototype as soon as I need money to continue progress on the others, but I should have enough to make a full one before then. How much did you sell them for?" Jack gave her a mischievous grin, a look he seemed to wear most of the time when they spoke. Normally it put her off but now it didn't seem directed toward her. "Jaaaaack?" she said after a moment of no response.

"Well, seeing as how you have a professional salesmen on your hands I know a thing or two, but you must promise me payment for my services," he said in a sly, but seemingly lighthearted tone.

"Jack!" Tooth was fed up with waiting and her curiosity got the better of her.

"Well, if you accept my terms of ten percent of all items I make the sale for, I sold all of them for three times the cost to make them!" His words grew louder and louder as he spoke. He must have been holding it in for quite a while and ready to tell her.

When she heard it she smiled widely and let out a scream; half screech of joy and half "YES!"

He smiled and held out his hand, which she shook violently. "Welcome to the business, partner." She grinned widely and shook it back. She didn't need Pitch or Mr. Cross. She didn't need any snobs or freaks or whatever. She was much happier working independently with Jack, it suited her style. But this would be tougher, not that she was worried. She didn't care that she had to work harder, that only made it more exciting. She threw on her robe and they got to work, planning out business and laying down money management. Jack seemed pretty used to this, so he wouldn't need to rely on her too much. It really was a partnership, and that worked for her. She had more confidence now, true confidence, than she had this morning. With everything stacking up now as it had, she was ready to take on the business and spread her name across town. After all, she could take it. She could take the work and late nights and whatever the future had in store for her. Without a doubt in her mind, she knew she was strong.


End file.
